This diary reveals the change of attitudes that soldiers could undergo after seeing warfare up close. Initially a supporter of conscription, Claude Ewart changes his mind because of his experiences in France.

When the conscription issue is first raised, Ewart writes “I see by the papers that they have got conscription in Australia. It is time they done something to make the slackers do their bit. I think we have done our share.” However his opinion soon changes. Apparently reflecting on his experiences in the final stages of the 1916 Battle of the Somme, just a few weeks later Ewart writes “I am glad that they put conscription out because I would not vote to get anyone over here what I would like to get out of myself. All the soldiers voted to let them stay at home if they can’t come voluntary.”

Claude Ewart was a driver in the Australian Army. Originally from Tasmania, Ewart enlisted in the Australian army in Melbourne in 1915. He was injured several times while serving. Ewart survived these injuries, but died in France in 1919 after the end of the war.

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a bit but the poor brutes you would not believe me if I was to tell you what we have to go through. I am glad that they put conscription out because I would not vote to get anyone over here what I would like to get out of myself. All the soldiers voted to let them stay at home if they can’t come voluntary. We are putting eight weeks in this hole. I will be glad when we are out of it. I suppose we will have another Xmas here. I was living in hope of it being over by Xmas but no sign of it here. There are plenty of Fritz prisoners working about here on the roads. They are looked after better than us. We were a few days without cigarettes and no matches. Matches are worth money at the present time. We have got a few Francs with us but cannot buy anything with it. The weather has been terrible here lately, rain wind and sleet. The ground froze for a few days. Then the rain came on. It made it in an awful state. The poor horses are catching it. They get down in the mud and have to be shot. There has been a few Fritz planes over the last few days. We brought five or six of them down. I have been very bad with gastritis. I do not know how long we are going to stop here but it will be the end of the boys when they come out of this place. It is bitterly cold. Fritz shells our waggon lines nearly every day now but does very little damage. Received a letter from Miss M Gorrie. Was very pleased to get it. I wrote home to a few friends. I sent a few Xmas cards also. I don’t suppose they will get them by Xmas. Went up to the Bty with water.

Serving soldiers had as diverse a set of views as the people back home in Australia. The Grinton brothers served in France in 1916, and voted ‘Yes’ to conscription.

Jack and Bert Grinton were two brothers who enlisted in Melbourne in 1916. Bert, who was only seventeen at the time, lied about his age so he could enlist. A postcard from Jack and Bert Grinton reveals their vote in the first referendum: 'We voted yes so I hope the loafers come along now.'

Jack and Bert Grinton both survived the war and returned to live close to each other outside Bendigo. The brothers had a camera with them as they served, the collection of photographs they took is an important record of the war.

While many returned soldiers supported conscription, there were many others who opposed it. Some of these formed the Returned Soldiers' No Conscription League

Supporters of conscription in Australia placed great emphasis on the opinions of returned soldiers. Such men, especially those who had received military honours, were heavily promoted around the country and spoke frequently at pro-conscription meetings.

In response, a number of returned soldiers formed the Returned Soldiers' No Conscription League to provide a public voice against conscription. These returned soldiers were largely aligned with the ALP. The Victorian President of the League, Richard Armstrong Crouch, who had served as a Colonel at Gallipoli, would later sit on the State Executive of the Victorian branch of the ALP, and one of the main organisers of the League nationally, William Gibbs, would be elected as a Labor Senator for New South Wales.

This manifesto was issued by the Victorian branch of the League prior to the second conscription referendum, and employs typical labour arguments about the need for conscription of wealth rather than conscription of men.

Men of the 44th Battalion recording their votes on the Referendum at the unit polling booth at Neuve Eglise.

Both before and after the first referendum, the ‘soldiers’ vote’ was considered to be of vital importance. Prime Minister Hughes tried to influence this vote but in the end soldiers voted in a similar way to Australians at home.

Prime Minister Hughes exerted pressure on the Australian General Birdwood in a number of ways. Hughes wanted the serving soldiers to hold meetings and pass resolutions in favour of conscription so that he could use that in his campaign. Birdwood rejected this suggestion as impractical. Hughes then insisted that Birdwood issue a statement in favour of conscription. Birdwood was reluctant to do this, fearing that soldiers would see that as an order from a commanding officer. When Hughes insisted, Birdwood finally released a statement which while claiming to be neutral, said that the current system of recruitment was inadequate, and praising Hughes’ manifesto on conscription.

Hughes had expected a large majority for ‘Yes’ from the serving soldiers. The vote in Australia was so close that in the days after the referendum many conscriptionists thought that the soldiers’ vote could still secure a ‘Yes’ majority. In fact some of the first votes counted at the front line showed ‘No’ majorities. In the end the published figures from the 1916 referendum were for a slight ‘Yes’ majority from soldiers, by 72 399 to 58 894. This was much smaller than Hughes had anticipated, and not nearly enough to overturn the home ‘No’ vote. In the 1917 referendum this ‘Yes’ majority from soldiers was reduced further. Despite all the pressure brought to bear by Hughes, many serving soldiers voted ‘No’, feeling that no one should be forced to endure the horrors of the war.